Sword of the Stars II Impressions

When we visited the Paradox Interactive booth at E3 2010, we had a surprise in store for us: a tech demo for the upcoming Sword of the Stars II: Lords of Winter. We were excited by the chance to get a glimpse of this game, because the original was one of the few remaining bastions of the famous 4X formula--that is, eXplore, eXploit, eXpand, and eXterminate. The only bad news is that we didn't get to see the game in action. However, between the trailer and a look at a huge space cruiser in the game engine, our appetites are whet for another grand spacefaring adventure.

The trailer begins as the camera pans across a giant edifice in space--the Argos naval yard at the planet Mars. We see ships flying about and hear plenty of radio chatter. It seems a peacekeeping vessel has been constructed, and as the camera sweeps around the station, a voice announces a new era of interstellar cooperation. But there's no excitement in peace, is there? In short order, the yard is besieged by ominous red spaceships, and we see the construct blanketed by giant shadows. We hear blood-curdling screams and chilling yelps, and then a scrawl proclaims: "The Lords of Winter are coming...for you."

After that dramatic introduction, we had a chance to chat with chief operating officer Chris Stewart of developer Kerberos Productions, as well as chief executive officer Martin E. Cirulis. They pulled up the game engine to show a giant cruiser. The ship was detailed and had a lovely, colorful look about it. Stewart pointed out several details, including the holographic badges that appeared on the ship and little animations that helped flesh out the visuals. As for the game, Kerberos promises deeper ship customization; you can even name each individual ship, and the name will be rendered on the vessel. The combat is moving away from traditional real-time strategy combat in which you simply pound on your target until it's destroyed. Instead, ships will behave differently based on what kind of damage you have done. You might take certain systems down or penetrate the ship's armor but not its hull. Certain types of weapons might pierce through to the center of the vessel, while others will barely scratch the surface. In other words, you have to think about more than just your enemy's health bar.

We didn't get to see any gameplay in our brief glimpse at Sword of the Stars II: The Lords of Winter. But if you liked the original, it's almost certain you should keep your eye on its sequel. We'll beam more information down to you as soon as the stars align in our favor.